The Bento Box (above) at Aji Sushi & Grill is a great lunch deal at only $9.95. The Double A roll (right), like the other sushi rolls at Aji, is a delicious work of art. Photo by Kathleen R. Merrill.

The spoiling of the customer at Aji Sushi & Grill in the Issaquah Highlands starts with the warm hand cloths brought to your table when you first arrive. It continues with impeccable service.

The restaurant has not only sushi but also numerous Korean dishes.

One way to judge a sushi place is by its California roll, one of the most popular menu items for people who love sushi, and for people who don’t. The California roll at Aji is beautifully made. You get eight large pieces for $4.95 and the blend of ingredients is perfect.

The best way to discover a new restaurant, such as Big Fish Grill at Grand Ridge Plaza in the Issaquah Highlands, is to avoid the personal vendettas and experience it in person.

With locations also in Kirkland and Woodinville, Big Fish is still finding its footing in Issaquah (the website is still not up and running yet).

By Greg FarrarBig Fish Grill staff split an order of Alaskan cod tacos (left) and seafood gumbo into half portions so two diners could enjoy a taste of the other’s meal.

I popped in for a meal with a dining companion recently and enjoyed the experience. We arrived in the late afternoon, having missed the lunch crowd, too early for the dinner service. We almost had the side dining room and the entire wait staff to ourselves. So, you’ll have to discover for yourself how Big Fish operates at peak hours.

Restaurant reviews are a regular feature of The Issaquah Press. Reviewers visit restaurants unannounced and pay in full for their meals.

If you are looking for anything particularly egg-ceptional from The Egg & Us on Gilman Boulevard, you will probably be content. With selections like an “ultimate” egg frittata and a California burrito, there are many options to satisfy your palate. That being said, the brunch-oriented restaurant — no worries, it isn’t all eggs, all the time — is not far from other breakfast joints when it comes to quality and taste.

The Swedish pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon were satisfactory. The cake was light and sweet with cream and lingonberries, a great complement to my crisp bacon. The other dishes that came out of the kitchen were appealing with tasteful piles of whipped cream or fruit. It’s not all breakfast fare; the menu has sandwiches, burgers and salads for those who want lunch.

In a world of American-Asian food, it’s easy to get something sub par. But, Dolsot Korean Cuisine definitely has an authentic feel.

The recently opened restaurant is small and quiet. There was only one other family there that night, so we had the attention of both a waiter and waitress who were very observant of our needs.

Upon arrival, we were quickly seated and a young, Korean gentleman took the time to explain the menu. This was necessary, because 90 percent of the menu is in Korean, with little explanation in English.

Restaurant reviews are a regular feature of The Issaquah Press. Reviewers visit restaurants unannounced and pay in full for their meals.

Nutritionists often extoll the virtues of making lunch the largest meal of the day, leaving a person the rest of the afternoon to digest and burn calories.

Big House BBQ isn’t the place for calorie counters, but for those looking to spend their afternoon with a belly full of Memphis-style slow-cooked beef, pork and chicken, a stop by the big red trailer across the street from Home Depot is in order.

As essentially Issaquah’s only recurring mobile food truck, Big House is not much for aesthetics — nor should it be. Three picnic tables, a canvas tent and a modest trailer with the smell of smoked meat wafting out are all that greet the diner.

Michael Kramer grew up in the kitchen. So, it’s no surprise to his closest family members and friends that his food truck Za’aTar is receiving rave reviews.

As a youngster, if he weren’t entwined in his grandmother’s legs while she was cooking comfort food worthy of any diner, he’d be underfoot while his dad whipped up a pretty mean homestyle Italian meal

What to know

To follow Za’aTar’s locations, go to:

www.zaatarseattle.com

www.facebook.com/zaatarseattle

www.twitter.com/zaatarseattle

www.bit.ly/QGLGLw

Now 22, the Liberty High School graduate said that in looking back, it was perhaps his mother who provided the most memorable life lessons to prepare him for what not to do while running a kitchen.

ContributedLate-night customers line up for fresh Mediterranean food from the Liberty High School graduate Michael Kramer’s food truck Za’atar Dec. 13 when it set up shop at Second and Pike in downtown Seattle.

“One time when we went camping, she was trying to fry up some potatoes for breakfast when she asked, ‘Why is the oil bubbling up?’” Kramer recalled.

Red Corner offers up Szechuan cuisine inside a hole-in-the-wall diner next to Gold’s Gym. While dining with a couple of friends, nothing we had was bad, but just nothing we ate was particularly memorable either.

After a lengthy hiatus from the business, Moi has returned to Issaquah with his second Filos restaurant — his first in Redmond and his second, Filos on Issaquah Creek, located along the same bend in the waterway as the long-departed Jay Berry’s.

A friend who’s originally from Tennessee laments missing one of her favorite staples of Southern cuisine — biscuits and gravy.

Imagine, then, her surprise to discover the answer to her Jonesing for homemade Southern cuisine could be found in a Klahanie neighborhood pub — Hop Jack’s.

With five locations in the Puget Sound region, Hop Jack’s is on the cusp of being a chain, but it still retains that neighborhood feel, catering to the middle-class looking for a place to meet after a hard day’s work.